Pyramids of Giza - Discovering Ancient Egypt

Pyramids of Giza including a map and Pyramid List

The David H. Koch Pyramids Radiocarbon Project was a collaborative effort of Shawki Nakhla and Zahi Hawass, The Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities; Georges Bonani and Willy Wölfli, Institüt für Mittelenergiephysik, Eidgenossische Technische Hochschule; Herbert Haas, Desert Research Institute; Mark Lehner, The Oriental Institute and the Harvard Semitic Museum; Robert Wenke, University of Washington; John Nolan, University of Chicago; and Wilma Wetterstrom, Harvard Botanical Museum. The project was administered by Ancient Egypt Research Associates, Inc.

Pyramids of Giza - Supreme Council of Antiquities - Sites

While the multiple old-wood effects make it difficult to obtain pinpoint age estimates of pyramids, the David H. Koch Pyramids Radiocarbon Project now has us thinking about forest ecologies, site formation processes, and ancient industry and its environmental impact—in sum, the society and economy that left the Egyptian pyramids as hallmarks for all later humanity.

Live Cam The Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx - Cairo

Surrounding the Giza Pyramids are thousands of ancient tombs, temples, settlements, and artifacts. Archaeological discoveries continue to this day.

With a height of 215 feet (65 m) and a base of 335 by 343 feet (102 by 105 m), Menkaure’s is by far the smallest of the three pyramids. Lehner notes that its building mass is about one-tenth that of Khufu’s pyramid. Its complex includes three queens’ pyramids on its south side.

Pyramids of Giza - Ancient Egypt

Khufu’s successor, Djedefre, built his pyramid off-site at Abu Roash. The person who succeeded Djedefre, Khafre, returned to Giza and built a pyramid that, although smaller than Khufu’s, was on a slightly higher elevation.

The Giza Pyramids and The Constellation of Orion

The construction of Khufu’s pyramid complex was a massive undertaking. Archaeologist Mark Lehner, who excavates at Giza, estimates that — assuming Khufu reigned for about 30 years — an estimated 251 cubic yards (230 cubic meters) of stone per day had to be put down. That’s “a rate of one average-size block every two or three minutes in a ten-hour day,” he writes in his book "" (Thames & Hudson, 2008), adding that estimates for the average size of these pyramid stones are as high as 2.5 tons.

Only one satellite pyramid sits outside Khafre's pyramid. Inside, the pyramid's architecture is simpler than Khufu’s. It has two entranceways, both on the north side, one located 38 feet (12 m) above the base of the pyramid and another on ground level.

The Great Pyramids and More - Tour Egypt

Recently, archaeologist Zahi Hawass, the former Egyptian minister of state for antiquities, that he believes these shafts lead to Khufu’s real burial chamber. "There is no pyramid of the 123 pyramids in Egypt that have these type of doors with copper handles," Hawass said. "Really, I believe they're hiding something."

Great Pyramids of Giza - Listverse

Khufu’s pyramid held three chambers. A grand gallery lead up to the king’s chamber, a red granite room that contains a now-empty royal sarcophagus. In the center of the pyramid is the so-called queen’s chamber, although it probably never held a queen. Beneath the pyramid is a subterranean chamber, its purpose, like the queen’s chamber, a mystery.